Grow your business

.mobi Search Engine Performance

eleyden — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:48:44 +0000

.mobi Search Engine Performance

As the Web grows ever larger, having your content ranked high in search engine results is crucial to online success. This is why companies spend vast amounts of money on search engine optimisation (SEO). There are, however, some ways in which you can improve your mobile site ranking without using a lot of cash. One of the best ways to ensure good search engine results for your mobile site is the .mobi domain. As proof, look at how .mobi performs on three of the leading search engines.

The screenshots below show three separate searches in the three leading search engines -- Google, Yahoo! and Bing – done on 5 August 2009. All of these searches were performed via a Firefox plug-in to switch between desktop search results and mobile search results for the same keyword. (If you’d like to test your own mobile search results, you can download the plug-in here http://chrispederick.com/work/user-agent-switcher/ )

The results for the standard desktop search are on the left; on the right are the results for the same search performed on the mobile version of the search engine, with the browser simulating a Nokia N95.

In each instance, the .mobi sites are ranked first in each of the mobile searches. And note that while many of these sites have multiple mobile entry points (e.g., wap.zagat.com or http://m.barclays.co.uk), it is the .mobi domain that is given the top position in the mobile search results.

For more articles on monetizing .mobi domains click here.

Mobile will be primary device for entertainment needs

jfoley — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:48:21 +0000

Marketers are in an ecosystem where mobile and social is becoming intertwined. Monthly visits to social networking sites have risen to 76 percent of the online adult population today – up from 54 percent in 2008, which is a relative increase of 42 percent.

According to Experian, mobile offers marketers a new avenue for connecting with those who are less receptive to advertising via other media. John Fetto, Montreal-based senior marketing manager for Experian Simmons stated,

“Because mobile is such a personal medium the information we can know about consumer behavior is also very personal,” he said. “I think also adding tracking and location information can provide marketers with a more meaningful way to connect with consumers.”

QR codes offer affordable mobile marketing option

jfoley — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:08:37 +0000

In recent months QR Code usage has seen a spike in both marketers and users, with a report by Mobio Identity Systems estimating an increase in usage of more than 4,000% since 2010. Homebuilders have seen this as a unique opportunity.

“Until recently, homebuilder marketing consisted of two options. One is online marketing, which is cost-effective and measurable, but usually reaches potential buyers only when they are on their computer at home or at work. The other is traditional marketing, including signage and print, which reaches buyers away from their computers but is not interactive and it’s harder to measure. QR Codes offer homebuilders the ability to create a variety of interactive experiences for buyers almost anywhere, in a way that is highly measurable and cost effective,” says Dawn Sadler, Founder of Builder Target and author of the Homebuilder Marketing Guide to QR Codes.

Local Search Revenues May Top $8 Billion in 4 Years

jfoley — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:59:47 +0000

Local search just keeps growing year on year figures prove. The figures where released by BIA Kelsey Group who are advertisers in the mobile space. Referencing these figure local search advertising revenues could top $8 billion within four years.

“Local search ad revenues hit an all-time high last year, driven primarily by better product integration across search engines, especially Google,” Booth says. “Revenues will continue to grow as better targeting, increased mobile usage and improving integration drive up local search activity.”

Why the mobile web is foundation of the best mobile strategies

jfoley — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:44:58 +0000

Bryson Meunier brings an independent view of the SEO to the complex issue for Businesses of their mobile strategy. Should they choose a mobile app or go with the mobile web. In his article Bryson wades through the sales pitches of both protagonists, to identify what the right answer is for specific business goals and objectives.

“I’ve seen enough to know that the strongest mobile strategies start with a mobile web site and use it as the foundation for success.”

Mobile content is twice as difficult

jfoley — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:37:41 +0000

Research from the University of Albert has found categorical that desktop site are not compatible for mobile handsets. To prove this, Jakob Nielsen's of useit.com lists the faults such as, their small screen size, clumsy navigation and the slow downloading speeds.

"Users must move around the page more, using scrolling to refer to other parts of the content instead of simply glancing at the text, the problem with this is it diverts attention from the problem at hand to the secondary task of locating the required part of the page".

The guidelines stressed in the article point quite clearly to icon based mobile sites being the complete solution with an easy to use interface. A great example of this is goMobi Read more at useit.com

Mobile web - the next frontier for your business

jfoley — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:34:46 +0000

The benefits of the mobile web have been well documented for retailers. No longer is the consumer restricted in there access of the internet. Business now have 24/7 access to the consumer via handsets, enabling purchases to be made anywhere and everywhere.

"Simply Business"recently launched their own mobile site, which allows the consumer to easily get quotes, make claims or even request callbacks by simply using their mobile phone.

Learn how you can leverage the power of the mobile web in a range of ways at "Simply Business"

Business in Motion

vance — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:53:18 +0000

Entrepreneur author Dan O'Shea outlines the challenges business have with the mobile Web and a variety of resources that can assist them in going mobile, including dotMobi's goMobi and the .mobi domain.

O'Shea provides several case studies but focuses on Bigfishtackle.mobi. According to the article, "Bigfishtackle.mobi was among the first sites launched with dotMobi's help. Though the site does see some unique visitors, Hodgdon says the crossover from the regular website has been especially notable, with about 40 percent of website visitors crossing over to the mobile-optimized version. That's a lot of impact for a project that cost its website proprietor little more than $8,000."

dotMobi's Pinky Brand is quoted several times in the article, including, "Mobile is what a lot of consumers use to look for businesses right now. In truth, every business already has a mobile website because your website can be seen on mobile phones. It's just that the businesses may not know how bad it looks on a mobile phone."

Read the full Entrepreneur article.

TravelOnTheGo.Mobi Marketing

vance — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:25:13 +0000

In this article, Ian R. Clayton offers an anlysis on branding a mobile travel service.

As he states, "We have completed our research and launched our travel 'on the go' mobile website for travel brands. The website, which is best viewed with a smartphone, is http://travelonthego.mobi."

"The first question we asked," he continues, "was should we build mobile apps or mobile websites. That was really a no-brainer, because apps have no place replacing websites. The second question was should we go with the crunch approach, rendering regular websites into tiny version of the same for mobile devices. Thirdly we wondered should we use .mobi or .com. The .com is most popular, but the .mobi has some special appeal."

He added, "This last question is extensively documented on our hub page at http://hubpages.com/hub/travel-on-the-go."

Read the full article on the Ian R. Clayton on Travel Technology blog.

Forty-one Percent of Merchants See Positive ROI from Mobile Commerce

vance — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:51:04 +0000

The facts and figures have been compiled in a recent FitForCommerce survey and I’m happy to report that 41 percent of retailers and merchants have noticed a positive return on investment from mobile commerce, sadly 32 percent of retailers and merchants have not measured their ROI and it is quite possible that they don’t know how.
Dan Butcher interviewed Jill Dvorak, Washington-based senior consultant at FitForCommerce, about best practice for retailers and merchants in the mobile space. Here is what she had to say:

Read the complete interview at Mobile Commerce Daily.